This issue of The Hook finds Naval Aviation at the forefront of the War on Terror and those who would support it. There was a justifiable rush to recapitalize our forces (simultaneous deployment of seven carrier battle groups) following intense combat operations in support of Operation Iraqi Freedom in 2003, and that has succeeded in lessening the burden on deployed force structure attached to the Central Command area of responsibility. Most of you are aware that the Chief of Naval Operations has instituted a Fleet Response Plan (FRP), which has shifted our deployment strategy to a much less predictable/cyclical series of events. The cookie-cutter approach to deployments supported by the old Interdeployment Training Cycle (IDTC) has been replaced by the Fleet Readiness Training Continuum (FRTC).
These initiatives are much more than name changes and are designed to help Naval Aviation maintain a higher level of readiness between deployments in order to surge if required to support National Command Authority decisions in the War on Terror. As Iraq and Afghanistan rebuild following the elimination of their repressive, radical governments, we will eventually see less of a terrorist threat from both.
The focus has already started to shift to a more aggressive effort combating al-Qaida in other parts of the world — Indonesia, the Horn of Africa, the Philippines and Pakistan. All of these could involve support by carrier aviation and the need to surge. The impact of all this is a need to be more flexible than we’ve ever been, which presents a number of unique training and readiness challenges.
Readiness Focus
This edition of The Hook focuses on the issue of force readiness and some of the challenges associated with the strategies in the War on Terror, with articles by our Combined Fleet Forces Commander, ADM William J. “Fox” Fallon and our Director of Aviation Requirements, RADM Mark P. Fitzgerald.
As most of you know from last year’s Hook symposium, one of Naval Aviation’s biggest challenges is rebuilding an aging force structure. How we pay for that while maintaining the gains we’ve made in other areas such as quality of life and current readiness is a tough question. All of this effort also needs to be tied to an overall investment strategy which supports the CNO’s “SeaPower 21” vision and its three key subsets: Sea Strike, Sea Shield and Sea Basing.
As many may be unfamiliar with the details behind those concepts, we are making them the focus of our Reunion this year. Details are still being worked out, but we’re shooting for one of our three symposium panels to deal with all three.
Association Initiatives
Most of you know that your board of directors meets once a quarter. The composition of the board is listed in each magazine, and we elect or re-elect one third of the board every year. Regular Members, those with an arrested carrier landing in their logbooks, should have received a ballot with this issue.
The board has agreed to “get around” to various locales as often as possible. We meet in Reno in conjunction with the reunion, and we meet in January/February in San Diego in conjunction with the Naval Institute/AFCEA symposium. The location for the other two meetings is up for grabs — we’ll be at Whidbey Island on 22 May and a location in November/December 2004 to be announced.
On a related note, we just stood up our third Tailhook Ready Room last March at NAS Oceana. As with its sister organizations in San Francisco and Washington, D.C., the LSO School-sponsored Oceana Ready Room will be generating activity on a quarterly basis. Look for Ready Room activity on our Web site.
Tailhook 2004 Planning
Hook 2004 is less than five months away. It’s not too early to begin planning your trip to Reno/Sparks on 9–12 September. I can assure you that we’re working hard to make this event even better than Hook ’03. In addition to bigger and better contractor displays and a wider variety of social events, we’re shifting the symposium schedule to include more panels and information exchanges instead of pure briefings.
We’re also rearranging the layout and flow of the Bug Roach Mixer, our largest and best-attended single event, and the hospitality suites with an eye toward more efficient use of those spaces.
Hook 2004 is the perfect time for your squadron or unit to host a reunion. Remember, if you want to host a hospitality suite or banquet room, you’ll need to contact the Tailhook Association instead of the Nugget — send me an e-mail at rogers.roy@juav.jte.osd.mil.
As usual, the Nugget is bending over backward to accommodate our desires, and we expect to fill the facilities with an exciting and memorable event.
See you at Hook 2004.